The Great Cleanup - стр. 10
Without thinking twice, Anna abandoned the handle-bar, trying to cover up. Immediately she heard her saviour's loud voice in her ear:
“I was told you were very cool, but I had no idea! Driving at such speed hands-off! I never even tried this myself!”
She kept fighting the buttons of her gown, and the man did not even think of interfering with her “driving”. Unbridled, free as a mustang, the motorbike stayed in the straight on its own will, not straying to the left or right. For some time, the drivers around them continued to watch Anna's battle with her garment intensely. Then, suddenly, they all fell behind.
Finally she managed to cover her breast, fixing the top of her gown with the junkie's pin that came in very handy now. Anna sighed with relief and glanced forward. Now she realized the bike kept going, no hand guiding it. She had, however, no time to realize how scary this was, as she noticed a bend in front. All cars lowered their speed before it, but the motorcycle kept going just as fast as before. Like a bird, it was flying right to this bend, into the concrete wall dividing the road. The road marking was smoothly turning to the right; the motorcycle crossed it, continuing on its perfectly straight way.
Anna was out of ideas. However, her saviour did watch the road, and finally he appeared to lose his nerve. Herman put his hands down onto the handle-bar again, lowered the speed and, turning elegantly to the right, repeated:
“You are very cool!”
Adding:
“Very cool indeed!”
Nobody ever spoke to her like that before. She was always a submissive daughter, wife, a girl or woman next to a strong man. Anna just could not do without one, as when someone was rude or violent towards her, she could never protect herself, falling into an utter stupor.
First, her father was the strong man. In kindergarten, she used to tell rough boys off with “I'm telling Daddy!” and it worked, they did leave her alone. In school, she had to involve her father for real. She was already in high school by the time when, as she walked home, a lad from the next block approached her. Placing a hand on her considerably grown breast, he nodded approvingly: “Wow! This will do!” Anna was struck, not knowing how to respond or behave. As the lad chuckled and buzzed off, she just cried softly. But then she came home and told her father everything. Dad proceeded to visit the lad's parents immediately, and after a brief instructive conversation, to break the arm of the troublemaker's father. It was not publicly known what transpired between father and son, but since that time, boys in the neighbourhood and the school stayed well away from Anna. Even the ones she actually liked.
In college she kept this story hidden, to avoid scaring suitors away. Finally one of them, a fair semblance of a Siberian bear, well over six feet tall and nearly two hundred pounds, became her husband and the new strong man always near her. Yes, Anna was used to being weak. Yet how nice it really was to hear: “You are so cool!”
The motorcycle calmly followed the bend, continuing on the straight after it. Anna breathed deeply in relief and prepared, finally, to have a talk with Herman, but now she was distracted by a long black limousine appearing on the left. Anna looked over it with curious admiration, but not lust. She would never exchange the motorbike, with Herman, for the expensive fancy car. At least that was her feeling for the moment.